State lawmakers — and voters — starting fresh

New congressional maps scramble a decade of political connections.

WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania's redrawn congressional map means new constituents for many lawmakers, undercutting one of the benefits of incumbency — name recognition.

So Tim Holden, a Schuylkill County Democrat in Congress nearly 20 years, is a stranger to many voters in Easton and other areas of Northampton County that are being cut off from the rest of the Lehigh Valley's congressional district and moved into Holden's terrain.

In other words, going into an election year, even incumbents like Holden face voters who don't know them. And the shift comes at a time of historic distrust of Congress.

A recent Gallup poll found that 76 percent of voters believe most members of Congress do not deserve re-election. But most Americans (53 percent) say their own member should stay.

For Holden, who said half of his district is new territory, there's less chance of people voting for him out of familiarity, or because of something he's done to benefit their community.

"I have work to do in Northampton," Holden said.

Through his work on the transportation and agriculture committees, he said he hopes he can prove he has a lot to offer his new district.

The intention of the Republican state lawmakers who created the maps was to mold more stable GOP districts. Local congressmen, like Republicans Charlie Dent and Lou Barletta, picked up areas with more GOP voters. In exchange, Holden gained more Democrats by taking on Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, as well as parts of Northampton County.

Pennsylvania is losing a congressman after the 2010 U.S. Census because other parts of the country are growing faster in population. The mapmakers resolved that by drawing lines that force two western Pennsylvania Democratic lawmakers — Jason Altmire and Mark Critz — to run against each other.

Chris Borick, Muhlenberg College political analyst, said party registration is more important than name recognition.

"I believe it's a trade-off any of these members would make because now they are meeting voters who will overwhelmingly vote with their party," Borick said.

The state Legislature approved the maps Wednesday night. Congressional candidates in 2012 will run using the new boundaries and the winners will represent those areas starting in 2013.

Dent's 15th District, which since 1980 has covered most or all of Lehigh and Northampton counties, now stretches from the Delaware to the Susquehanna rivers. He's losing Easton and the Slate Belt in Northampton County, plus a share of Montgomery County, and must face new voters in Berks, Lebanon and Dauphin counties.

Like other lawmakers, Dent expressed sorrow at losing connections made in areas being lost. And as for starting from scratch with a new set of voters, he said, it's "the reality of this process."

Harrisburg Republicans worked hard to protect Barletta, a freshman who ran twice in his district before winning on the third try, by carving him into solidly Republican regions. Despite that advantage, Barletta acknowledged the challenge.

"I'm new again. I'm new to them," Barletta said, adding it's going to take "time to get to know everybody and for them to get to know me."